Machine for filling and packing containers



J. C. THOM.

MACHINE FOR FILLING AND PACKING CONTAINERS.

APPLICATION FILED mmzs. I921.

1,386 1 @D Patented Aug. 9, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET i.

ATTORNEYS I. C. THOM.

MACHINE FOR FILLING AND PACKING CONTAINERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-26, I921.

Patented Aug. 9, 1921 3 SHEETSSHEET 1\,. k) f INVENTOR ATTORNEYS J. C. THOM.

MACHINE FOR FILLING AND PACKING CONTAINERS.

L386 8ML APPLICATION FILED JANIZ'B, I921- IIIIII IIIII III/I i IIIIIIIIII UNETEEE STAT eater onto,

JAIVIES C. THOM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T COMBINATION MACHINE COM- JPAIN'Y, OF NEW YORK, H. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 9, 11921.

Application filed January 26, 1921. Serial No. 439,973.

To all whom. it may canoe-m: Be it known that I, JAMES C. THoM,a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago. in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Filling and Packing Containers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the filling and packing of containers with a material, and more particularly to an apparatus for filling and packing containers with a charge having a predetermined and uniform resulting weight, and has special reference to the provision of such an apparatus adapted for the packing of a c-omminuted, granular or pulverulent material as, for example, the packing of containers with snuff.

In the packaging of containers with such a commodity as snuff, it is requisite, in order to comply with the internal revenue laws of the United States, to indicate on the package the quantity of the product contained therein. Itis therefore necessary to charge each of the containers with a definite and known quantity of the commodity in question. it has been found that the cost of production of the packed container is considerably lessened in the use of an apparatus of the type in which the container is filled with a predetermined quantity by volume and this volume is automatically packed in the container to produce the uniform weight required. It has further been found that simple and more efficient means for packing containers may be constructed on the principle of filling the containers with a charge substantially larger in volume than the vol ume of the containers, means being provided for gradually and densely packing the charge within the confines of the container.

The principal objects of my invention therefore include, in addition to the provision of an apparatus of the type referred to, operating on the princi 1e and accomplishing the functions outlined above, the provision of a simplified apparatus for feeding containers, filling and packing the containers with a commodity and delivering the packed containers to other apparatus for further packaging operations; the provision of a special apparatus adapted for the effective filling and packing of such a commodity as moist snuff; the provision of a novel conveyor for the containers for carrying them from a container feeding station, through charging and'packing stations and to a delivery station and the general provision of such an apparatus having a new and simplified arrangement of parts for accomplishing the necessary functions in a facile manner.

To the accomplishment ,of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter particularly described and sought to be defined in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which show a preferred embodiment of my invention and inwhich Figure 1 is a plan view of my apparatus,

F 1g. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1, and

Figs. 3, 4 and are detail views taken on the cross sections 33, 44: and 55 respectively of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the various parts of the apparatus are supported by a bed 6, carried by a plurality of legs 7, a main operating shaft 8 being journaled in opposed legs 7 as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings; the said main shaft being provided with a sprocket wheel 9, receiving motion through a sprocket chain 10, connected to any source of power (not shown).

Mounted on the bed 6 are a plurality of U-shaped bearings 11, flanged conical rollers 12 being journaled in these bearings, these rollers supporting for rotative movement a gear ring 13 having formed thereon and preferably integral therewith an external gear 14-, the gear ring being also provided with a flanged portion having a tapered surface 15, which is movable over and guided by the flanged rollers 12. Fixed to the gear ring 13 and rotatable therewith is a main disk 16 provided with a plurality of openings 17 arranged circumferentially and near the outer periphery of the said disk, each of the openings being provided, furthermore, with a flanged bushing 18 having a depth greater than the thickness of the main disk 16 to provide for a protruding portion 19 for a purpose hereinafter to be described.

Fixedly connected to the main disk 16, as by means of threaded pins 20, shown particularly in Figs. 2, 3 and 1 of the drawings, is a conveyer disk 21, the said conveyer disk 21 being provided with a series of recesses or pockets, shown herein as semi-circular recesses, formed in the periphery of the said i being capable of axial motion with respect to the main disk; the said annulus being slidably mounted in the said pins 20. The annulus 23 is furthermore intended for the supporting of a series of containers 25, as shown clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the containers being held in position on the said annulus by means of the pocketed disk 21 hereinbefore'described. The annulus 23 is supported and movable on a stationary cam shoe 26 fixed to the bed 6 by means of brackets 27 and a threaded pin 28 adjustably mounted on the bottom bracket 27, as by means of lock nuts 29, the adjustable mounting being provided for the purpose of adjustably positioning the cam shoe 26.

Means is provided for feeding the containers to the conveyer disk; said means comprising in the present form of my invention, a supply chute 30, through which the empty containers are gravitationally fed from apparatus situated above the level of my present device, such as from an. upper flight, the empty containers feeding down upon the horizontal portion 31 of the chute and to an arcuate table 32 in horizontal alinement with the portion 31 of the chute, a feed disk 33 having a series of semi-circular pockets or recesses in the periphery thereof being provided and arranged concentrically with the arcuate table 32 for the feeding of the empty containers from the chute and onto the conveyer disk and supporting annulus 21 and 23 respectively, as clearlyshown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the said feed disk 33 being rotated in the direction as shown by the arrow in Fig. 1, a stripper 34 being utilized for removing the empty containers from the feed disk and moving such containers on the supporting annulus 23. It is to be noted that the sup porting annulus 23 is at this point of the device located on a level slightly below the level of the arcuate table 32, this construction providing a facility in the feeding of the containers from the arcuate table'and onto the supporting annulus, there being suflicient clearance between the annulus and the protruding portion of the bushings 18 at this point to permit the ready insertion of the empty containers in the pockets of the conveyer disk 21.

Means is provided for rotating the feed disk 33 in the direction shown in Fig. 1, such means taking the form, in my present invention, of a shaft 35 on which the feed disk is fixedly mounted at its upper end, this shaft being journaled in brackets 36 and 37 fixedly mounted on a stationary portion of the machine, such as on a leg 7 and bed 6. The shaft 35 is provided with a gear 38 which meshes with the external gear 14, forming part of the gear ring 13; motion of the gear ring in a direction as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings imparting to the feed disk a rotary motion in the opposite direction through the intermeshing gears.

For the purpose of filling or charging the containers with the commodity such as moist snuff, for example, a hopper 39 is provided, such hopper being fixedly mounted on a stationary part of the machine, the hopper being provided, as clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, with an open bottom 40 flush with the upper surface of the main disk 16, the opening being extended and being alined with the openings 17 in the main disk for the purpose of charging a plurality of containers located beneath such openings during the transit period of such containers. Located above the opening 40 of the hopper are a plurality of agitators 41 appropriately journaled in the walls of the hopper, as shown at 42, the shafts of the said agitators being provided with beveled pinions 43 adapted for rotation for imparting motion to the agitators. These agitators or stirrers 42 function to maintain the snufi' I in the desired consistency for the uniform feeding thereof into the containers to be filled. j

It has been found that to effectively charge a container such as the cylindrical containers shown herein with a commodity such as moist snuff, such containers being uniformly charged with a definite uantity by weight of the snuff, that an eflicient apparatus canbe provided in which the charge fed by the hopper is equal to a predetermined volume and greater than the volume of the container, means being provided to compress or pack the charge into and within the confines of the container. To this end my invention contemplates the feeding from structed for telescoping coiiperation during the charging and packing or compressing operations. A convenient means of accomplishing this result resides in the provision of the cam shoe 26 and the adjustment thereof by means of the adjustable lock nuts 29 and rods 28, so that the said cam shoe is at a relatively lower elevation at the container feeding station, as hereinabove referred to, to permit the containers to be fed onto the supporting annulus 23 without interference from the bushings 19, the said cam shoe being given a relatively higher elevation at the feeding and packing stations, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, for example, this construction accomplishing the function of moving the containers 25 during transit in an upward direction to effect telescoping coiiperation with the bushings 18, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. It is to be noted that this upward motion of the containers 25 resulting from the axial motion of the supporting annulus 23 is afforded by the slidable mounting of this annulus on the pins 24. By this means the containers and bushings are charged with a uniform consistency of snufl, these elements being charged with a predetermined volume of the commodity flush with the upper surface of the main disk 16, as shown in Fig. 1. A. moistener 44 may be provided fixed on the hopper 39, the

moistener feeding into a felt plate 45 for the purpose of removing any excess chargein the container and bushing and for the further purpose of cleaning or wiping the top surface of the main disk 16.

Means is provided for pressing the charge and packing it into the container, such means being arranged in the path of movement of the containers and comprising, in the present form of the invention, a plurality of movable plungers 46, one for each container, a plurality of these plungers being adapted for simultaneous action on a plurality of moving containers, the plungers being guided for the gradual compression of the charge into the containers. The plungers are arranged for vertical slidable motion in a plurality of movable flights 47; said flights being connected for motion to the links of a sprocket chain 48, said chain being trained over alined sprockets 49, fixedly mounted on a stationary portion of the machine. The flights 47 are constructed for proper movable cooperation with the main disk 16, these flights being formed with recesses 48 adapted for the reception of the periphery of the main disk 16, this 006perative association of the flights and the disk preventingany vertical motion of the flights with respect to the disk during plunger cooperation with the containers. For the purpose ofpreventing any relatively horizontal motion during plunger action, the flights 47 are each provided with a cam follower 50 moving over an arcuate cam guide 51, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings; the said arcuate cam' guide being arranged concentrically with the main disk 16 so that each plunger during activity will be properly alined with the circumferentially arranged bushings and containers.

For the purpose of vertically moving the plungers in the flights 47 for the compressing operation, means 1s provided which consists of a cam track 52, the said track being provided with a downwardly curved portion 53, shown in Fig. 5, each of the plungers 46 being provided with a cam follower 54 moving in the guide track 53 to effect the gradual downward motion of the plunger for the compression action, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. After the charge has been packed into the container the plungers are moved upwardly by an upwardly turned portion 55 of the cam track, the plungers and the flights 47 being supported during the remainder of their motion when out of coiiperation with the containers by the said cam track 52.

The plungers and the flights receive motion. from the main shaft 8 by gear ring,

which consists of a s rocket chain 56 trained over a sprocket whee 57 mounted on the main shaft and over an opposed sproket wheel 58 mounted on a shaft 59 journaled on any sta tionary portion of the machine, the shaft 59 being also provided with a beveled gear 60, meshing with a beveled gear 61 fixed to a shaft 62 which, in turn, carries the sprocket wheel 49 for driving the sprocket chain 48.

The main disk 16 also receives motion from the main shaft 8, the gear ring 13 meshing with a train of gears 63, one of the gears of the gear train being mounted on the shaft tion similar to the location of the cam shoeat the container feeding means. Stripping means 65 is provided in the path of the filled containers to remove the same from the movable conveyer and onto a guide 66, the containers moving from this guide onto a conveyer belt 67 in a direction as shown in Fig. l to other machinery for other operations, a counter 68 being preferably provided in the path of the moving filled containers.

The operation of my device will be apparent from the above description thereof. The rotation of the main shaft 8 supplies motion to the gear ring 13 and to the plungers and flights 46 and 47, proper rotation being supplied to the feed disk 33, receiving motion from the gear 38 meshing with the gear 14 on the gear ring 13. The empty containers are fed by the rotation of the feed disk 33 from thechute 30 and onto the conveyer disk 21, rotation of the conveyer disk moving the containers under the hopper for the charging of the containers during transit under the hopper, further rotation of the to involve a simplicity of construction and facility of operation, especially when used with such a commodity as wet or moist snuff, prior machines having been found to be inefficient for the packaging of such a commodity. It will be apparent that my device permits quantity production in packing the containers with a relatively simple machine occupying, furthermore, a relatively small compass. The various parts of the machine are easily accessible for repair and are, fu'rthermore, easily accessible in the event of failure .of operation of any of the parts.

While I have shown my device in the preferred form, it will be obvious that many changes and'modifications may be made 1n the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for filling containers with a charge, a conveyer for carrying a plurality of containers from a container feeding station through a charge filling station and to a delivery station, said conveyer including a movable support for the containers, pro visions movable with the conveyer and having elements adapted for alinement with the filling openings of the containers to provide enlarged filling channels for the containers,

the said support for the containers being axially movable relative to the said elements to provide the enlarged filling channels.

2. In a machine for filling containers with a charge, a conveyer for carrying a plurality of containers from a container feed ing station through a charge filling station and to a delivery station, said conveyer including'a movable annular-support for the" containers, an annulus movable with the conveyer and having elements adapted for alinement with the filling openings of the containers to provide enlarged filling channels for the containers, the said support for the containers being axially movable relative to the said elements to provide the en larged filling elements.

3. In a machine for filling containers'with a charge a conveyer for carrying a plurality of containers from a container feeding station through a charge filling station and to a delivery station, said conveyer including a movable support for the containers, provisions movable with the conveyer and having elements adapted for telescoping cooperation with the containers to provide enlarged filling channels for the containers, the said support for the containers being axially movable relative to the said elements to effect the telescoping cooperation.

4. In a machine for fillingcontainers with a charge, a conveyer for carrying a plurality of. containers from a container feeding station through a charge filling station and to a delivery station, said conveyer including a movable annular support for the containers, an annulus movable with the conveyer and having elements adapted for telescoping coiiperation with the containers to provide enlarged filling channels for the containers, the said support for the containers being axially movable relative to the said elements to effect the telescoping cooperation.

5. In a machine for packing containers with a material, movable means for conveying the containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, elements arranged for cooperation with the containers on the conveying means to provide filling channels of greater capacity than the containers, means for filling the channels with the material for charging the containers and means for packing the charge in the containers whereby packed charges of uniform weight are obtained.

6. In a machine for filling and packing containers with a material, means for conveyingthe containers through charge filling and packing stations, means at the filling station for charging the containers with the material, provisions movable with the conveying means for packing the charge in the containers; said provisions comprising an endless chain conveyer carrying a plurality of packing plungers and cam track means for guiding the plungers in their movement relative to the containers for packing the charge therein.

7. In a machine for filling and packing containers with a material, means for conveying the containers through charge filling and packing stations, means at the filling station for charging the containers with the material, provisions movable with the conveying means for packing the charge in the containers; said provisions comprising an endless chain conveyer having a portion only movable over the path of movementof the containers, with the remaining portion movable out of said path, the said conveyer carrying a plurality of packing plungers and cam track means for guiding the plungers in their movement relative to the containers for packing the charge therein.

visions for guiding t e plungers in their movement with the containers and cam track means for guiding the plungers in their movement relative to the containers for packing the charge therein.

9. A machine for filling a material in moving containers. comprising a rotatable conveyer provided with a plurality of container receiving pockets arranged around the periphery thereof, a means for feeding the containers from a supply station to the pockets in the conveyer, a stationary hopper for holding the material and provided with an opening in its bottom alined with the peripheral pockets of the conveyer and adapted for charging the moving containers with the material, movable means arranged in the peripheral path of the moving containers and movable with the containers in such path for packing the material therein, means for removing the filled containers from the pockets for conveying them to the delivery station, and means for continuously and synchronously moving the conveyer, the feeding means and the packing means.

10. In a machine for filling movable containers with a charge, a rotary conveyer for carrying a plurality of containers from a container feeding station through a charge filling station and to a delivery station, said conveyer comprising a rotatable disk provided with a series of peripheral pockets for receiving the containers, an annulus forming a support for the containers arranged below the disk and connected thereto to rotate therewith but to move axially with respect thereto, and a'i'main disk fixedly connected to the rotatable disk and provided with a series of elements alined with the disk pockets and adapted for telescoping cooperation with the containers held in the said pockets.

11. In a machine for filling and packing movable containers with a charge, a rotatable conveyer for carrying a plurality of containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, said conveyer comprising a rotatable disk provided with a series of peripheral pockets for receiving the containers, an annulus forming a support for the containers arranged below the disk and connected thereto to rotate therewith but to move axially with respect thereto, a main disk fixedly connected to the rotatable disk and provided with a series of elements alined with the disk pockets and adapted for telescoping coiiperation with the containers held in the said pockets, and means for moving the said annulus axially with respect to the rotary disk to permit feeding and delivery of the containers at the feeding and delivery stations and to effect telescoping cooperation with the containers and the elements at the filling and packing stations.

12. In a machine for filling and packing movable containers with a charge, a rotatable conveyer for carrying a plurality of containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, said conveyer comprising a rotatable disk provided with a series of peripheral pockets for receiving the containers, an annulus forming a support for the containers arranged below the disk and connected thereto to rotate therewith but to move axially with respect thereto, a main disk fixedly connected to the rotatable disk and provided with a series of elements alined with the disk pockets and adapted for telescoping cooperation with the containers "held in the said pockets, and a stationary cam shoe supporting the annulus adapted for moving the said annulus axially with respect to the rotary disk to permit feeding and delivery of the containers at the feeding and delivery stations and to effect telescoping cooperation of the containers and the elements at the filling and packing stations.

13. In a machine for packing containers with a material, movable means for convey ing the containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, elements arranged for cooperation with the containers on the conveying means to provide enlarged filling channels, means at the filling station for charging the containers with the material and means at the packing station movable through the elements for packing the charge in the containers whereby packed charges of uniform weight are obtained.

14. In a machine for packing containers with a material, movable means for conveying the containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, elements movable with the conveying means and arranged for telescoping cooperation with the containers on the conveying means to provide enlarged filling channels, means at the filling station for charging the containers with the material and means at the packing station movable through the elements for packing the charge in the containers whereby packed charges of uniform weight are obtained. v

15. In a machine for packing containers with a material, movable means for conveying the containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, elements arranged for cooperation with the containers on the conveying means to provide enlarged filling channels, means at the filling station for charging the containers with the mate rial and means at the packing station movable through the elements and movable with the conveying means for packing the charge in the containers whereby packed charges of uniform weight are obtained.

16. In a machine for packing containers with a material, movable means for convey ing the containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, elements movable with the conveying means and arranged for telescoping cooperation with the containers on the conveying means to provide enlarged filling channels, means at the filling station for charging the containers with the material and means at the packing station movable through the elements and movable with the conveying means for packing the charge in the containers whereby packed charges of uniform weight are obtained.

17. In a machine for packing containers with a material, a movable conveyer for carrying the containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, the said conveyer comprising means for holding the containers and elements telescoping with the containers to provide an enlarged filling channel, means at the filling station for charging the channels with the material and means at the packing station movable through the elements for packing the charge in the containers, whereby packed charges of uniform weight are obtained.

18. In a machine for packing containers with a material, a continuously movable conveyer for carrying the containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, the said conveyer comprising means for holdingthe containers and elements telescoping with the containers to provide an enlarged filling channel, means at the filling station for charging the channels with the material and means at the packing station movable through the ele ments and movable with the conveyer for packing the charge in the containers, whereby packed charges of uniform weight are obtained.

19. The combination recited in claim 17, in which the movable conveyer comprises a rotary disk with peripheral pocketsfor holding the containers and in which the feeding station, filling means, packing means and delivery station are arranged in spaced relation and circumferentially ofthe conveyer for cooperation with the peripheral pockets therein. v

20. In a machine for packing containers with a material, a movable conveyer for carrying the containers from a container feeding station through charge filling and packing stations and to a delivery station, the said conveyer comprising means for holding the containers and elements telescoping with the containers to provide an enlarged filling channel, means at the filling station for charging the channels with the material. andmeans at the packing station comprising a plurality of plungers, one for each container, movable through the elements and movable with the c'onveyeia.

- Signed at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 22nd day .of January, A. D. 1921.

JAMES C. THOM. 

